Your 2020 website checklist

It's a new year and a new decade, so lets make sure your website isn't left in the last one of either!

It's easy to become complacent with your website, especially when you are not looking at it every day. But don't forget this is your 24/7 sales tool and a high percentage of your customers are looking at it all the time. So this year make sure you are not falling behind the competition as well as dropping down the rankings due to out dated web trends and Search Engine techniques.

In 2020 there are a few new web trends emerging along with some from the past couple of years that businesses still haven't caught up on. So to help you sort through this ever changing world wide web - we have compiled a useful check list to ensure your business is all set for the 20's.

1. Mobile Responsive

This may seem an obvious one, but we still see a number of websites that do not have a responsive version or just simply perform badly on mobiles. With mobile usage now ahead of desktop usage in the UK, this is key!

2. Microinteractions

Also known as UI animation, theres a little design elements that play a big role in creating a human feeling whilst browsing the site. These are slight movements when scrolling or hovering over elements. For example when mousing over a product the 'sale' icon could spring out slightly, using a slider to show price ranges or particular elements of a product could slide together to form a full image. Just a simple technique that makes you stand out from the competition and drives users where you want them to go.

3. Video

The increase in web speeds and forthcoming launch of 5g mean that users no longer have to watch the spinning wheel for 5 minutes before they can load a video. Videos can look great in banners (see example here) as well as tell your story in a quick 30 second clip without users trawling through the website.

4. Humanisation

This has been a growing trend for the past couple of years. Users have generally built up an instant distrust with anything on the web. For example if your website is using stock imagery, then a user really can't tell if you are actually a legitimate company or just a reseller in china pretending to be a legitimate business. The best way of overcoming this is having your own photography and video throughout the site, as well as an about or team page showing who you are. When users see a picture of your office or a human face, then trust is automatically and subliminally formed.

5. Minimalism

This has long been a trend but even more so website are now set to become less cluttered and more centred around key information. This doesn't mean to get rid of all that important information, it's just a case of better planning and structuring so users feel more comfortable.

6. Smarter SEO

Search Engine Optimisation is ever changing, Google are getting smarter with their algorithms with new updates being rolled out all the time. It's important to ensure your website is not only up to date with the underlying code but also that you are not using outdated SEO techniques that may be causing a hindrance. With smart tracking analytics and goal measurements you can ensure that you are constantly on the rise and ahead of the competition. We offer a free website audit to help with this.

7. Artificial Inteligence

Artificial intelligent chat bots are becoming more 'human like' to a point where users are now able to get all the answers they need. To reduce internal workload and also give users a sense of interaction these are going to become more prominent over the coming years.

8. Security

Hackers are getting smarter and more automated, this means they are not just targeting the big companies but are now sending out bots to find any website with a flaw. Also with GDPR still in full force it is important to ensure your website is running on a secure server and protecting your own data as well as your users. In addition, a website with HTTPS security also ranks higher on Google, so it's a win win. As well as HTTPS security your website should have a firewall, uptime monitor and backups alongside ongoing security updates for full protection.